


Chosen, Rare Minds

by merry_magpie



Category: Agent Carter (Marvel Short Film), Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Historical, Mentions of Steve Rogers - Freeform, mentions of Armin Zola, operation paperclip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-12
Updated: 2014-11-12
Packaged: 2018-02-25 02:11:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2604767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merry_magpie/pseuds/merry_magpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Within three weeks, on July 6, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff  authorized Operation Overcast [Paperclip], to ‘exploit’ from among the German scientists ‘chosen, rare minds whose continuing intellectual productivity we wish to use.’  Under Operation Overcast, 350 German and Austrian Scientists were to be brought ...to the United States.”  </p><p><i>Rich Man’s War, Poor Man’s Fight: Race, Class, and Power in the Rural South during the First World War</i> by Jeanette Keith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chosen, Rare Minds

It felt like it had been hours since Howard has told her, even if only a few moments had passed. “You can’t be serious.” She said and swirled her bourbon. Its soft, icy rattle was the only sound in the room.

“He’s a genius; we can’t let his mind go to waste in a prison.” Howard said. His voice avoided condescension but only barely, implying she was the one being unreasonable. 

“Yes, we bloody well can.” She said feeling justified anger wash over her and give her a spark even as she held it in where Howard could not see it. “He was Schmidt’s right hand man, we cannot, in good conscience allow him free, let alone working for SHIELD.” She might expect this kind of talk back home where the war had depleted everyone of money, life, and vitality - where even two years after the end of the war in Europe, London was still a wasteland. Here in America - where not only had rationing ended but they were already selling bigger cars and dresses with full crinolines- they were not this desperate. 

“He’s not in prison.” Howard said and sat back in his chair the distance between them seemingly further apart than just the coffee table between them. 

Peggy felt like she had no control in this conversation. “What do you mean he’s not in prison? Have you gone mad and released him already?”

“Peggy, darling.” He said, speaking to her as if she was a skittish colt and not a seasoned spy and career woman. 

“Don’t sweet talk me, Howard.” She said shortly and regretted it. She had to remain composed. 

“Read this.” He said and tossed a folder across the coffee table to her. On the cover it read, “JIOA: Operation Paperclip, Top Secret, A. Zola.” Howard leaned back again in his chair relaxed and in control of the situation. She put her glass down and flipped through the document and with growing horror realized exactly how mad the Americans she thrown her lot in with were. “He’s never been in jail.” 

“He’s been working for the Ordnance Corps for the Army since he turned over on Schmidt” Howard said, still calm and in control. How could he be so damn cool when he was saying such outrageous things? “With his expertise in high energy outputs and weapons, thanks to the Schmidt’s energy source, well, he’s been too useful to America to lock him up.”

“He’s a war criminal.” Peggy said. She tried not to sound infuriated but the very idea that he was not in jail was a moral affront. “Good men died because of him. Better men sacrificed their lives and their futures to stop HYDRA.” It wasn’t fair to bring Steve into this conversation but someone had to remind Howard of what SHIELD stood for if he’d already forgotten. 

“Steve’s dead, Peggy.” Now he seemed angry and present in a way he hadn’t yet throughout this conversation. He couldn’t be distant when they were talking about Steve. No one could and she wasn’t above using a ghost against him if that’s what it took to end this madness. “You have to let him go.”

“Says the man who sends out a search party every summer looking for him.” Peggy said trying to keep bile from poisoning her voice. That Howard would try to twist this as Peggy hanging on to the memory of Steve like some black-veiled Victorian widow was insulting when he knew that she looked to him and his legacy as a guiding principle.

“I look because he’s too valuable, alive or dead, to lose to the arctic.” Howard answered, though he didn’t do her the honor of looking her in the eye as he lied to her. 

“I’ll never okay this.” She said, putting the file down on the coffee table and sliding it back to Howard. She picked up her drink, holding on to it as if it were a talisman that could hold off the madness that had already obviously infected Howard. 

“We don’t need you to, Peggy. Phillips already has.” He didn’t smile in triumph, no that would have been too gauche, he said it so plainly, that a deep rage rose in Peggy. What had happened to the man she knew who had flown Steve behind enemy lines and who had worked around the clock to counter Zola’s inventions?

“You went over my head?” It was infuriating and demeaning. 

He shook his head. “We did it before you joined. I’m giving you the heads up so that you don’t shoot the man when you meet him on Monday.” They had already treated her with kid gloves she didn’t want, letting her “grieve for Steve” in that back office full of condescending, incompetent field agents for a year before even letting her know she was going to be brought on as the SSR recreated its mission in this new political world. Now they were excluding her from important decisions. How could she be so naïve to believe SHIELD would be any better than the military service before that? She felt defeated in a way that she had never expected amongst allies.

“How on earth did either of you think this was a good idea?” She tried to keep the resignation from her voice as her anger failed her.

“I already said it. Zola is too smart to waste in a prison.” This time she could see something in his eyes, a resignation she hadn’t noticed before that perhaps matched her own. 

“He was HYDRA. That alone should bar him from any SHIELD facility ever, Howard.” She tried once more, in case it might make a difference. 

“He was a coward not a believer in the Nazi Party or in Schmidt’s plans.” Howard said. Good thing the man had never been a spy, he couldn’t lie to save himself. “Schmidt was the only one who saw his genius at first, and when he went crazy it was too late for Zola to safely leave. At SHIELD he can safely work on our projects.” He paused. “His genius can help the world, Peggy, and maybe that can pay for some of the crimes he committed under Schmidt.” She knew he only half believed his own propaganda but at the very least he needed her to believe it. They had gone over her head, demeaned the role she had in the organization, and didn’t even have the courtesy to have faith in their own convictions. The anger that had begun to subside rose again. 

“You make it sound like he wasn’t complicit in those crimes.” She slammed her drink down on the coffee table with too much force, sprinkling bourbon on the dark teak, and stood up. “I think I need you to leave.”

“Alright, Peggy.” Howard said getting up and jamming his hands in his pockets. He looked more like a boy being scolded than a grown man . “Think about it. There’s no better jail than being surrounded by SHIELD agents all day, every day.”

“Out, Howard.” She said pointing to the door, losing all her sense of patience. 

He took his jacket and hat from the stand by the door to her apartment. “Like I said, just don’t shoot the guy when you come in on Monday.” 

He closed the door behind him and Peggy slumped down into her seat. How could any of them think bringing in Zola was a good idea? All of these men had fought HYDRA alongside Steve as she had and how could none of them see that this was inviting in an infection that could rot out the core of SHIELD?

Peggy grabbed her tumbler from the table, walked over the bar, and took a deep breath before she poured herself two more fingers of bourbon. Her hand trembled and she let it, knowing that this was the last weekend she could be weak. This wasn’t a Trojan horse. They were letting the enemies in through the front door with a smile and a signing bonus. She knew if she gave them an excuse they would kick her out. Or worse, station her in some remote outpost to be forgotten. If she played along, however, perhaps she could keep Zola’s influence from reaching too far. Perhaps she could truly make SHIELD the jail Zola deserved.

**Author's Note:**

> I struggled with this story a lot considering how short it was. I struggled, because as much as Howard seems to be the bad guy he's really only the bearer of bad news and as righteous as Peggy seems she will ultimately let Zola become a rat that brings plague into the whole of SHIELD (alongside all the other founders of SHIELD). However, I wanted to explore a bit of the implications CA:TWS hinted at in regards to Operation Paperclip, the Cold War, and SHIELD. Even, if only briefly.


End file.
